Gilbert Arenas & NBA vets amped over Alijah Arenas' USC announcement on dad's podcast show

Gilbert Arenas' son Alijah Arenas, ranked 12th by ESPN in the class of 2025, made a decision about his basketball journey and which team he'll represent in college. He joined his father's podcast "Gil's Arena" to talk about his future and reveal which team he picked.

After drawing interest from Arizona, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisville and USC, the shooting guard committed to the Trojans live on the show. After greeting everybody in the studio, he added a twist to his announcement. Instead of just saying his selection, he would call the coach he'll play for to let him know he's heading to their program.

"I'm on the podcast right now and it's kinda like a big day for me. I wanted to let everybody know that I wanted to come into USC," Arenas told the coach.

That sparked a big reaction from the coach, who yelled "Let's go" while the rest of the hosts celebrated in the studio. Alijah Arenas was congratulated by his father, Nick Young, Rashad McCants, Brandon Jennings, Josiah Johnson and Sheryl Swoopes.

Johnson joked about hating the decision since he roots for UCLA while Arenas jokingly said he received money that he had to pay back. Gil added that USC's coach Eric Musselman was his coach in the NBA (he coached the Golden State Warriors from 2002 through 2004), so this was a full-circle moment for the Arenas family.

Gilbert Arenas' co-hosts advise Alijah Arenas after commitment to USC

After he explained why he decided to go with the Trojans, Josiah Johnson asked his co-hosts what advice they could offer Alijah Arenas. McCants told him to try to live the full experience and not simply see college as a step before the NBA. Sheryl Swoopes agreed with McCants' words, saying he should embrace everything.

Brandon Jennings said he should put God first while taking in everything he can to learn as much as possible in college while highlighting he was close to his family. Nick Young insisted that he should enjoy this experience while hinting he could take him to some interesting places around campus.

Last but not least, his father told him to be willing to learn, especially now that he's reached a new level. He told him that he would meet future CEOs or tech people and should build connections while he works to get to the next level and ultimate goal: the NBA.